NCJ Number
191698
Journal
International Journal of Emergency Mental Health Volume: 3 Issue: 3 Dated: 2001 Pages: 133-135
Date Published
2001
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This paper makes recommendations on how to address psychological consequences of terrorism.
Abstract
On September 11, the United States experienced traumatic psychological experiences when airplanes flew into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Adequate response to the psychological aspects of terrorism is crucial. The better prepared the emergency response teams, the less severe the overall impact of the attacks. The acute event management phase consists of the period in which emergency response teams perform their tasks and health professionals provide psychological support. The consequence management phase occurs when the initial acts of heroism are complete and it is time for people to move on in life. Without that step, the terrorists will prevail. The 10 recommendations are to never lose sight of the fact that a goal of the terrorist act is to engender psychological instability; to establish crisis hotlines and intervention services; to provide pre-incident psychological resiliency training; to collaborate with mass media services to provide information to all those involved and affected; to take steps to re-establish a sense of physical safety; to enlist the support of leaders to facilitate communications, calm fears, and provide personal crisis intervention; to re-establish normal communication and work schedules as soon as possible; to understand the use of symbols, such as flags, to re-establish community cohesion; to start rituals to honor survivors, rescuers and the dead; and to do no harm. References